Display case



Dec. 11 1923. 15476872 A. R. BOAL ET AL DISPLAY CASE 1 Filed Oct. 1. 1921 m w k 5 v M drZhur@.BpaZ/% 29 1 0 2 n 29 .20 M /0 (DEMAZM? wow (7/ M65 5 ,le

Fatentecl Dec. 11, 1923.

UNITED} STATES PATENT OFFICE;

ARTHUR a. BOAL Ann GHAnLEsonRIEN, or nnw YORK, n. Y.

n-rsrLAg CASE.

Application filed October 1-, 1921. Serial No. 504,645.

To all to from it may concern:

Be it known that W8,ARTHUR R. BOAL and CHARLES OBnmn, citizens of the United dtates, and residents of NewYork city,-in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Display: Cases, of which the following is a specification. "Our invention relates to display stands and is particularly directed to a or cases. device of this type in which small packages or articles may be directly displayed on the counter or show-case to'attract the eye of Stands and cases'of this type are employed for the. display of small package goods such as are sold in drug, grocery,con-' fGClllOIlQI'Y and'similar stores; and those in common use are generally open so that the goods may readily be removed. This arrangement, while convenient and effective, permits frequent pilferin'g of the small articles from the open holders, a' practice which in some casesfhas become sufficiently extensive to be serious.

One object of our invention is to provide a display case or standfor small articles'or packages so arranged thatunauthorized removal of the goods therefrom is very difficult. An ancillary object is to provide such a'holder from which the merchant can readily and rapidly remove the articles as wanted. Y

Another object is to evolve'a case which may be readily and rapidly refilled; and in the preferred form we have provided such a case adapted for the display of articles in their original container, so arranged that] a new container can be easily and speedily inserted when the .old one is empty:

In the preferred form disclosed, we have furthermore provided a case in which the unsightly appearance often caused by the removal of most of the packages from a display holder is largely eliminated, our

case retaining its attractive display appearance until the packages are all removed.

We have furthermore accomplished these and-other objects which will be apparent while retaining to a high degree the valuable features of cases or stands of this typey more particularly, our stand. is attractive in appearance, presents the goods in an attractive manner, is durable and may be manufactured as cheaply, strongly" or largely with as much surface finish and decoration as the individual user, may desire.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 1s a perspective view of a preferred form adapted for the display of. elongated rectangular packages, in display position, F ig. 2 isa vertical section from front to back through a similarfdevice, the position for removal and refilling being shown in dotted lines, and.

Fig. 3 is adetail of a hinge construction.

Ourimproved case consists generally of anarticle support adapted to retain the articles in inclinedposition for display, and to swing downwardly and rearwardly for ready removalof the articles. This is supported on a suitable body or framework, and preferably has retaining means across the'front of'the'articles or packages to prevent removal thereof. In the preferred form the body of the case includesa base 10,

- sides 11, a low front 12, and a top 13, conso as to swing from inclined display position to horizontal removal position. One convenient and (-ECOIlO-InlCftlIIlGthOCl of providing a connection betweenthe support and thebody includes ears 15 along the lower edge ofsupport 14, and a pintle wire 16 passingthrough the ears and fastened at its ends to the body adjacent sides 11, as by turning the ends at right angles to lie along saidb'ody and clampingthem in upturned tongues 17 formed from the metal edging 18 of the body sides. Obviously this arrangement can be materially varied. W e also provide means of the latch type for retaining the support 14 in elevated position... This may include a swinging latch 19 pivotally mounted in an ear 20011 the body top 13, the latch being provided with a downturned retaining extension 21, and if desired with a check extension 22 to limit the. upward movement of the latch. The

specific construction shown, in which the latch is made ofround wire working loosely inear20, does: not require. the use of a spring; "but obviously a great variety of other latches may be substituted therefor without aifectingthe operation of'the" rest of thedevice; v

Various means for. holding the articles, which in the drawings: consist of thereotangular elongated packages 28, may be providedon support 14'. As the packages illustrated are contained in the'lowerpart of an ordinary cardboard box," we employ for the purpose rail 24 mounted on the support 14, the'railbein'g so arranged and'located that when-the support is in display position the'lowermostpackage 23 will be in position just above the front '12 of the body.

,zlVe prefer to provideacross the front of thebOCly11D8211lS-fO12 retainingithe packages therein to prevent unauthorized removal.

This is conveniently accomplished by en 'ploying a glass front for thecase, which may be mounted in any desired. manner.. In the form shown: the glass 25 1Sll10ll11t6d by adhesive on the front or upper edges of the 'bodyjtop,sidesand front, a cushioning strip means for masking the upper part of'the container 'or! space prorided for the articles '23, so thatpartial depletion will'not seriously affect the attractiveappearance of the case.- For thispurpose we provide a cover forthe" upper portion ofthe case opening which'preferably mcludes a label orfadvertisement" 27'; and atransversesheet metal support 28 for the label also be included,:extending across'the container at a suitable distance from the glass, and mounted at itsiopposite ends on the sides 11 of the Anysuitable means for supporting or mountingthe body maybe used, the form shown' having supporting bosses 29 mounted on the base, as by nail projections 30 extending from the bosses intothe base 10.

' In use the support 14- is maintained in 'latched position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

and it will be apparentthattlre articlcs can only be stolen'by unlatehing and lower- 7 ing the support and reaching around to the 7 back of the'case, the 'd'ifliculty of this operation providing a substantial deterrent to 'would-be-pil-ferers; On the other hand, the articles are very readilyand rapidly removed for sale. as latch 19 can be lifted and the support let lowered by a single easy movement of one hand; and all of the articles will be readily accessible when the support is lowered, the arrangement of the support and rail 24: providing adequate hand space to reach articles at the very front of the case. As articles are removed those remaining will necessarily gravitate to the bottom of the support, the empty space being shielced by label 28 until a substantial part of the articles are sold; and even when empty space appears below the label, the attractive appearance of the label combined with the appearance of the articles remain- 1 mg in tne case will still render the device generally attractive.

lVhen all the articles are sold the case is refilled with the greatest ease by sliding the empty container out and replacin it with a filled container in the manner indicated in dotted'lines in Fig. 2.

While we havedescribed the preferred form of our inventionand indicated certain variations therein, it will be apparent that numerous other changes and rearrangements may be made within the scope of our invention. For instance, we have not described any means for permanently locking the goods in the case; and we have shown an arrangement suitable for small packages. Furthermore, we have disclosed a body which is provided with enclosed sides and front and is of substantial appearance, being adapted to beplaced on a counter or a show-case; but these features may obviously be altered to suit particular requirements or tastes. Numerousother changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and come within thescope of our-inventionas set forth in the following claim. v e claim:

A display case comprising a box-like structure having an open back and a rearwardly inclined front wall of transparent material, a support adapted to hold a plurality ofarticles pivotally mounted within the case and adapted to be held indisplay position beneath the said front wall and to be swung downwardly to permit removal of the articles of merchandise therefrom, means for holding the support in display position and meansfor masking the upper portion of said support.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 15th day of September, A l). 1921.

ARTHUR R. BOAL. CHAR-LES OBRIEN. 

